Reid Ribble trivia

Here’s a few things you may not know about U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble and his family:

• Ribble coached Appleton East boys’ volleyball from 1977-1981 and girls’ volleyball from 1981-2000. • He wears a friendship ring as his wedding band, given to him when he was 16 by his wife, DeaNa. • He is a Pontiac GTO enthusiast and owns a 2005 model. • His wife is an architecture expert and gives tours of the Capitol and White House in D.C. • Ribble’s son Clint attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he served as musician John Mayer’s resident assistant.

Coming tomorrow

The second part of this series will feature Democrat Jamie Wall, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble for the 8th Congressional seat.

Tammy Baldwin live chat

U.S. Senate candidate and Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, will visit Appleton at 10 a.m. today for a chat with Gannett Wisconsin Media editors. Join the conversation in an interactive chat at greenbaypressgazette.com.

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APPLETON — A brief exchange with a constituent at a town hall meeting last July left an indelible mark on U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble.

A potential voter asked the Republican congressman representing the 8th District to hand over his wallet.

“Are you going to give it back? With everything still in it?” Ribble asked.

When the man nodded in agreement, Ribble handed over his leather billfold. The man pulled out a silver Sharpie and scribbled, “Develop a sense of urgency” onto an interior fold, where it remains today.

Ribble says the moment was poignant because it represents the attitude that sent him to Washington and the reason he wants to go back for another two-year term.

Ribble, 56, of Sherwood, faces Democratic challenger Jamie Wall, 41, of Green Bay, on Nov. 6. Gannett Wisconsin Media spent a day with him as he traveled the district, making stops and a campaign appearance last month.

The day provided an unvarnished look at the 1974 Appleton East graduate who built his career on the family’s Fox Valley roofing business.

Genuinely curious

Dressed in a crisp white oxford and blue suit jacket, Ribble met his communications director, Ashley Olson, and district chief of staff Rick Sense at the Appleton Red Robin restaurant to begin the day’s events.

As Sense drove the congressman in the front seat of the Dodge Caravan, he used his reading glasses to write a note to a wounded Wisconsin veteran returning from Walter Reed National Military Hospital.

Ribble uses the downtime on car rides to check emails on his iPhone and brush up on legislative priorities.

“That’s maybe the one thing I didn’t expect about the job. I averaged about 76 hours per week until my staff helped me chop it down to 65,” Ribble said.

With 14 of his staffers and other representatives communicating by email, his phone is jammed with 400 emails a day.

The first stop this warm day in September is the Lake States Logging Congress & Equipment Expo at the Experimental Aircraft Association grounds in Oshkosh.

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Ribble sat in on a roundtable discussion with the state’s logging leaders about issues of the day. He clearly understands this topic and shares the same tenacity on the subject as Medicare or the debt — industry terms like “stumpage” and “root ball” roll off his tongue.

An event like this is a learning opportunity, Ribble says.

“I’m a data-driven guy,” he said.

When it comes to his values, Ribble likes to borrow a line from U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan — he thinks the government should provide a safety net for those left with less opportunities, “but it can’t become a hammock.”

Votes rooted in conservatism

Make no mistake: Ribble is a true conservative. He attended Grand Rapids School of Bible and Music to become a full-time minister before entering the roofing industry.

“I’m a Republican with a small ‘r.’ Not a big-party guy, but I’m a conservative guy,” Ribble said. “People complain about gridlock, but it’s ironic because we send people just like us to Congress. It’s a cross section of the United States — every race, young and old, Republican and Democrat.”

Although he takes pride in moments of bipartisanship, Ribble’s record shows he voted with the Republican Party 90 percent of his time in office.

He hopes to stay a bit under the national radar despite his prime-time committee assignments, working on the Budget, Agriculture and Transportation.

“Many people in Congress do it for the credit. Once credit matters, you create obstacles,” Ribble said at his campaign stop in Winneconne. “I always preached that at Appleton East as a volleyball coach. If you’re willing to set aside who gets the glory, you’ll succeed because at the end of the day, it’s about championships.”

Ribble says the biggest aspect of his job is the one that gets the least attention — serving his constituents.

He said the 700,000 “customers” in his district aren’t bashful. Since taking office, his staff responded to 92,829 emails, letters and calls.

When you visit his office in Washington, D.C., the staff is instructed to make sure you have a thank-you email waiting in your inbox before you arrive back at your hotel.

“We take pride in customer service,” Ribble said. “It’s from my background in roofing; if there’s a leak in your home or office, that’s the most important (thing) in your life at that moment.”